Process for producing mono- or biaxially drawn polyketone films

ABSTRACT

Processes for producing mono- and biaxially drawn polyketone films from linear polymers of carbon monoxide, ethylene, and at least one ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon having a melting point of at least 214° C., including drawing of a linear polymer sheet along one or two axes, respectively, at a draw temperature of from about 4° to 15° C. below the melting point of the terpolymer, and at a draw ratio of between 4 to 20. Also disclosed are the products which have and exhibit good properties of strength and stiffness, even at low draw ratios, produced by these processes.

This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. Nos. 411,771 and411,772 filed on Sept. 25, 1989, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to stretched films produced from a linearalternating polymer of carbon monoxide and at least one ethylenicallyunsaturated hydrocarbon, and to methods of producing such films. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to monoaxially and biaxiallystretched or drawn films of a linear alternating terpolymer of carbonmonoxide, ethylene and a second hydrocarbon, and to methods of producingsuch films.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The class of polymers of carbon monoxide and olefin(s) has been knownfor some time. Brubaker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,286, produced such polymersof relatively low carbon monoxide content in the presence of freeradical initiators, e.g., peroxy compounds. U.K. 1,081,304 producedsimilar polymers in the presence of alkylphosphine complexes ofpalladium as catalyst. Nozaki extended the reaction to produce linearalternating polymers in the presence of arylphosphine complexes ofpalladium moieties and certain inert solvents. See, for example, U.S.Pat. No. 3,694,412.

More recently the class of linear alternating polymers of carbonmonoxide and at least one ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon hasbecome of greater interest in part because of the greater availabilityof the polymers. More recent processes for the production of suchpolymers, now becoming known as polyketones or polyketone polymers, areillustrated by a number of published European Patent Applicationsincluding 121,965, 181,014, 213,671 and 257,663. The process, nowbecoming broadly conventional, generally involves the use of a catalystcomposition formed from a compound of a Group VIII metal selected frompalladium, cobalt or nickel, the anion of a non-hydrohalogenic acidhaving a pKa below about 6, preferably below 2, and a bidentate ligandof phosphorus, arsenic or antimony.

The resulting polymers are relatively high molecular weightthermoplastics processable by methods conventional for thermoplasticsinto a variety of shaped articles of established utility. One suchutility is in the production of sheets and films useful in the packagingindustry which are produced by methods such as extrusion. While suchsheets and films have desirable properties, it would be of advantage toprovide films of the polyketone polymers having better properties ofstiffness and strength.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention relates to process for producing anon-porous monoaxially or biaxially drawn polyketone film comprising alinear alternating terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and a secondethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon of at least 3 carbon atoms, havinga melting point of at least 214° C.; comprising the steps of drawing asheet of said film along one or two axes, respectively, at a drawtemperature of from 4°-15° C. below the melting point of the terpolymer,and at a draw ratio of within the range of from 4 to 20. The presentinvention also relates to a non-porous monoaxially or biaxially drawnpolyketone film comprising a linear alternating terpolymer of carbonmonoxide, ethylene and a second ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon ofat least 3 carbon atoms, having a melting point of at least 214° C.,produced by the steps comprising drawing a sheet of said film along oneor two axes, respectively, at a draw temperature of from 4°-15° C. belowthe melting point of the terpolymer and at a draw ratio of within therange of from 4 to 20.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although a variety of polymers of carbon monoxide and at least oneethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon are useful in the process of theinvention, the preferred polymers are linear alternating terpolymerswherein moieties of carbon monoxide alternate with moieties of ethyleneand a second ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon of at least 3 carbonatoms and the polymer contains substantially one molecule of carbonmonoxide for each molecule of ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon. Thehydrocarbons useful as the second ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbonare aliphatic such as propylene and other α-olefins, e.g., 1-butene,isobutylene, 1-hexene and 1-decene, or are arylaliphatic such as styreneand ring-alkylated styrenes, e.g., p-methylstyrene, p-ethylstyrene andm-methylstyrene. The preferred terpolymers are terpolymers of carbonmonoxide, ethylene and, as the second hydrocarbon, an aliphaticα-olefin, especially propylene. Such polymers are therefore broadlyrepresented by the repeating formula

    --CO--C.sub.2 H.sub.4)].sub.x [CO--G)].sub.y               (I)

wherein G is a moiety of the second ethylenically unsaturatedhydrocarbon of at least 3 carbon atoms polymerized through the ethylenicunsaturation. The --CO--C₂ H₄ -- units and the --CO--G-- units are foundrandomly throughout the polymer chain and the ratio of y:x, generallyless than about 0.5, reflects the proportions of ethylene and the secondhydrocarbon in the terpolymer. The end groups or "caps" of the polymerchain will depend upon what materials were present during the productionof the terpolymer and whether or how the terpolymer was purified. Theoverall properties of the terpolymer do not appear to depend to anyconsiderable extent on the particular end groups so that the polymer isfairly represented by the above formula for the polymer chain.

The polyketone terpolymers of general interest are those of molecularweight from about 1000 to about 200,000, particularly those of molecularweight from about 20,000 to about 90,000. Such terpolymers have amelting point of from about 175° C. to about 270° C. and a limitingviscosity number (LVN), expressed in dl/g as measured in m-cresol at 60°C., of from about 0.8 to about 4, preferably from about 1.5 to about2.5. For the purpose of producing the monoaxially and biaxially drawnfilms of the invention, however, the chemical composition and physicalproperties of suitable terpolymers are somewhat narrower in scope andall polyketone terpolymers of carbon monoxide, ethylene and secondhydrocarbon are not equally useful in the production of stretched ordrawn films according to the invention.

The polyketone terpolymers which are suitable for monoaxially andbiaxially stretched film production according to the invention are thoselinear alternating terpolymers of the above formula I wherein themelting point of the terpolymer is at least 214° C. and preferably is atleast 220° C. These melting points roughly correspond to terpolymershaving contents of a second hydrocarbon of no more than about 5% by molebased on total polymer and preferably no more than about 3% by mole onthe same basis. When the preferred second hydrocarbon propylene isemployed, the terpolymer will be no more than about 6.5% by weightpropylene and preferably no more than about 5% by weight propylene, onthe same basis. The presence of some second hydrocarbon in theterpolymer is required, e.g., at least about 0.5% by mole based on totalterpolymer, but the presence of second hydrocarbon in excess of about5.0% by mole results in terpolymers having melting points below 214° C.and monoaxially or biaxially stretched films produced from terpolymersof such a composition exhibit lower strength, stiffness and lower hightemperature resistance.

The terpolymers useful in the present invention were produced by thegeneral processes of the above published European Patent Applicationswith attention to the amount of second hydrocarbon present in thereaction mixture and accordingly in the resulting linear alternatingterpolymer. Although the scope of the polymerization process isextensive, the preferred catalyst composition is formed from a palladiumalkanoate, particularly palladium acetate, the anion of trifluoroaceticacid or p-toluenesulfonic acid and a bidentate ligand of phosphorusselected from 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane and1,3-bis[di(2-methoxyphenyl)phosphino]propane. The carbon monoxide andthe ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbons are contacted underpolymerization conditions in the presence of the catalyst compositionand a reaction diluent. Lower alkanols are suitable reaction diluents,especially methanol. Typical reaction conditions include a reactiontemperature from about 30° C. to about 150° C. and a reaction pressurefrom about 10 bar to about 100 bar. Subsequent to polymerization theterpolymer product is obtained as a material substantially insoluble inthe reaction diluent and is recovered by conventional methods such asfiltration or decantation. The terpolymer is used as produced oralternatively is purified as by contact with a solvent or complexingagent which is selective for catalyst residues.

The terpolymer product is converted to a non-stretched film or sheetprior to stretching or drawing by methods which are conventional forthermoplastics. In one modification, the terpolymer is extruded througha suitable die to produce the non-stretched film or sheet. In analternate modification, the terpolymer in particulate form iscompression molded at somewhat elevated temperatures to produce thesheet from which the stretched film is formed. The length and width ofthe non-stretched sheet are limited only by the size of the equipmentavailable for the stretching process. The thickness of the sheet to bestretched is of some significance, depending upon the desiredapplication and is typically from about 0.01 in. to about 0.05 in.thick. By whatever method the non-stretched sheet or film is produced,some care should be taken to prevent the inclusion within the sheet offoreign material, particularly non-thermoplastic foreign material, sincethe presence of such material often leads to the formation of holes orvoids in the stretched film.

The terpolymers of the invention are stretched monoaxially, i.e., in onedirection. The monoaxial drawing or stretching takes place attemperatures somewhat below the melting point of the particularterpolymer and the process is commonly referred to as cold drawing.Drawing temperatures are determined by the melting point and molecularweight of the polymer and are from about 4° C. to 15° C. below themelting point of the polymer, preferably from about 10° C. to 15° C.below the melting point of the terpolymer being monoaxially drawn.

In another embodiment, the terpolymers of the invention are stretchedbiaxially, i.e., in two directions, and are preferably biaxiallystretched or drawn at a 90-degree angle although biaxial stretching atother angles is also satisfactory. Very suitably the drawing angle ofthe biaxial drawing is between 85° and 95°. The biaxial drawing orstretching takes place at temperatures determined by the melting pointand the molecular weight of the polymer and are somewhat below themelting point of the terpolymer. Generally, drawing temperatures of from4°-15° C. below the melting point of the polymer are satisfactory withdrawing temperatures of about 10° C. below the melting point of thepolymer being preferred.

The physical drawing of the polyketone terpolymer is accomplished bymethods known in the art employing commercially available equipment.Equipment found to be suitable is available from Bruckner Maschenenbauof West Germany. One form of such equipment operates by clamping on theedges of the sheet to be drawn and, at an appropriate temperature,separating the edges of the sheet at a controlled rate. Alternatively,and preferably for commercial purposes, the biaxial drawing process isconducted continuously at high production rates in multistage rolldrawing equipment, also available from Bruckner, where the drawing ofthe extruded sheet or film stock takes place in a series of stepsbetween heated rolls rotating at different and increasing rates. Whenappropriate combinations of draw temperatures and draw rates areemployed, draw ratios, i.e., the ratio of a dimension of a stretchedfilm to a non-stretched film, for the monoaxial stretching will suitablybe from about 4 to about 20 with draw ratios of from about 4 to about 10being more common, preferably at a draw ratio from about 4 to about 8. Adraw ratio of less than about 4 does not produce the desired degree ofmolecular orientation in the stretched film and the desired enhancementof physical properties is not obtained. Attempts to obtain a draw ratioof more than about 20 using known procedures and equipment willfrequently lead to ruptures of the film.

The monoaxially and biaxially stretched or drawn films of the inventionhave a high degree of molecular orientation and are characterized byhigh mechanical strength and stiffness, even at relatively low drawratios. The advantages of the invention are particularly evident whenmultiple plys of the film are laminated together in an alternating90-degree biaxial arrangement. Such laminates have a high degree ofclarity and are resistant to puncture by blunt objects, even thosestriking the film at high velocity. The polyketone films and laminatesthereof have enhanced barrier properties towards oxygen and carbondioxide, compared to, for example, oriented polyolefins, and unlikepolyolefin films are directly printable by conventional inks and dyes.The terpolymer may incorporate conventional additives such asantioxidants, stabilizers, colorants, and slip and antiblock agentswhich do not unduly interfere with the stretching process and do notadversely affect the stretched film. A copolymer of ethylene andmethacrylic acid marketed by DuPont under the trademark NUCREL® is apreferred additive as a processing aid.

The stretched films and laminates are processable by conventionalforming methods such as thermoforming and pressure forming and areshaped or forged by such methods into autoclavable shaped articles suchas cooking bags or pouches or tubs and other containers for food anddrink. The films are also suitably employed in packaging applicationsrequiring greater high temperature resistance than that provided bypolyolefins or PVC, and are useful as the base layer in a variety oflaminates with other polymeric materials such as ethylene/vinyl acetatecopolymers where the strength of the stretched polyketone terpolymerlayer is sufficient to provide the necessary strength to the laminate.

The invention is further illustrated by the following ComparativeExamples (not of the invention) and Illustrative Embodiments whichshould not be regarded as limiting the invention.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE I

A terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and 7% by weight based ontotal polymer of propylene was produced in the presence of a catalystcomposition formed from palladium acetate, trifluoroacetic acid and1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane. The terpolymer had a melting point of212° C., an average molecular weight of about 70,000 and an LVN,measured in m-cresol at 100° C. of 1.5 dl/g. This polymer was designatedPolymer CE.

ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT I

A terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and 6% by weight based ontotal terpolymer of propylene was produced in the presence of a catalystcomposition formed from palladium acetate, trifluoroacetic acid and1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane. This terpolymer had a melting pointof 220° C., an average molecular weight of about 70,000 and an LVN,measured in m-cresol at 100° C., of 1.6 dl/g. This polymer wasdesignated Polymer IE.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE II

A stretched, monoaxially drawn film was produced from an extruded filmof Polymer CE using a Bruckner KARO® II drawing apparatus operating attemperatures about 30° C. below the melting point of the polymer. Theconditions of the drawing process and the properties of the resultingstretched film are shown in Table I.

ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT II

A stretched, monoaxially drawn film was produced from a compressionmolded film of Polymer IE using the Bruckner KARO® II drawing apparatusoperating at temperatures about 30° C.-40° C. below the melting point ofthe polymer. The conditions of the drawing operation and the propertiesof the resulting stretched film are shown in Table I, wherein acomparison is made with properties of a monoaxially stretched film of acommercial polypropylene.

                  TABLE I                                                         ______________________________________                                                                          Poly-                                       Sample         IE        CE       propylene                                   ______________________________________                                        Molecular wt. (est.)                                                                         70,000    70,000   450,000                                     Draw rate, cm/min                                                                               50        50       25                                       Draw temp, °C.                                                                          183       180       100                                      Monoaxial Draw ratio                                                                         6.5        6.5      6.5                                        Tensile at break, psi*                                                                       98,000    80,000    44,000                                     Elongation at break, %                                                                          7      39.9     21.9                                        1% Tangent modulus, psi*                                                                     1,200,000 380,000  750,000                                     ______________________________________                                         *Higher numbers indicate better properties.                              

Table I shows that at a draw ratio of 6.5, the monoaxially drawnterpolymer of this invention (mp 220° C.) has and exhibits bettermechanical properties of tensile strength at break and tangent modulus(a measure of stiffness) than both similarly stretched terpolymer (MP212° C.) and polypropylene. These superior mechanical propertiesdifferences are consistent with the values for elongation at break whichshows that the monoaxially stretched terpolymer (MP 220° C.), has avalue which is substantially lower than either similarly stretchedterpolymer (MP 212° C.) or polypropylene.

ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT III

A linear alternating terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and 6.3% byweight based on total terpolymer of propylene was produced in thepresence of a catalyst composition formed from palladium acetate,trifluoroacetic acid and 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane. The polymerhad a melting point of 214° C. and an LVN, measured in m-cresol at 60°C., of 1.4 dl/g. The nascent reactor polymer was melt compounded byinjection molding and then reground to coarse powder. The powder wascompression molded into a 8×8×0.02-inches sheet. The properties of thecompression molded sheet and stretched film produced therefrom weredetermined and are shown in Table II. The mechanical stretching wasaccomplished with a Bruckner KARO® II unit for biaxial stretching ofthermoplastic films operating in the biaxial drawing mode attemperatures which are instantaneously 10°-15° C. above the meltingpoint of the polymer.

                                      TABLE II                                    __________________________________________________________________________                     Compression                                                  Sample           Molded Biaxially Stretched                                   __________________________________________________________________________    Draw temp., °C.                                                                         --          230° C.                                   Draw rate, m/min --           0.75                                            Draw ratio       --          4.5                                              Tensile strength at break, psi*                                                                10,000 23,000   20,000                                       1% Secant modulus, psi*                                                                        101,000                                                                              314,000  270,000                                      Elongation at break, %                                                                           300     37       25                                        O.sub.2 Permeabiliy,.sup.b)                                                                    5.5         7.8                                              cm.sup.3 -mil/100 m.sup.2 -d-atm                                              CO.sub.2 Permeability,.sup.b)                                                                  41.0        60.3                                             cm.sup.3 -mil/100 m.sup.2 -d-atm                                              CO.sub.2 Permeability/O.sub.2 Permeability                                                     7.5         7.7                                              __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.a) samples cut parallel to draw directions                               .sup.b) 30° C., 0% relative humidity                                   *Higher numbers indicate better properties.                              

Table II shows that at a draw ratio of 4.5 and draw temperature of 230°C., both of which are within the inventive ranges, the biaxiallystretched terpolymer likewise has and exhibits better mechanicalproperties of tensile strength at break and secant modulus than thecompression molded terpolymer. These superior mechanical properties arealso consistent with a substantially lower value for elongation at breakof the biaxially stretched terpolymer relative to the compression moldedterpolymer.

Thus, the data in Tables I and II support the inventive claims thatsubsequent to mono and/or biaxially stretching utilizing the processesof this invention, the useful polyketones (with MP at least 214° C.)show an unusually rapid increase in mechanical strength properties withextension.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for producing a non-porous monoaxiallyor biaxially drawn film by monoaxially or biaxially drawing linearalternating terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and a secondethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon of at least 3 carbon atoms, theterpolymer having a melting point of at least 214° C., at a drawtemperature of from about 4° to 15° C. below the melting point of theterpolymer, at a draw ratio of at least about
 4. 2. A process as inclaim 1 wherein the second hydrocarbon is propylene.
 3. A process as inclaim 1 wherein the drawing is a monoaxial drawing and the draw ratio isfrom 4 to
 10. 4. A process as in claim 1 wherein the drawing is abiaxial drawing, the termpolymer has a melting point of at least 220°C., and the draw ratio is between 4 and
 8. 5. A process as in claim 4wherein the drawing angle is from between 85° and 95°.
 6. A process forproducing a non-porous biaxially drawn polyketone film comprising alinear alternating terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and a secondethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon of at least 3 carbon atoms, havinga melting point of at least 214° C., comprising the steps of drawing asheet of said film along two axes, at a draw ratio of from 4 to 20, at adraw temperature of from 4° to 15° C. below the melting point of theterpolymer.
 7. A process as in claim 6 wherein the terpolymer has amelting point of 220° C.
 8. A process as in claim 6 wherein the drawratio is from 4 to
 8. 9. A process as in claim 6 wherein the drawtemperature is 210° C.
 10. A process as in claim 6 wherein the drawangle is between 85° to 95°.
 11. A process for producing a non-porousmonoaxially drawn polyketone film comprising a linear alternatingterpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and a second ethylenicallyunsaturated hydrocarbon of at least 3 carbon atoms, having a meltingpoint of at least 214° C., comprising the steps of drawing a sheet ofsaid film along one axis, at a draw ratio of from 4 to 20, and at a drawtemperature of from 4° to 15° C. below the melting point of theterpolymer.
 12. A process as in claim 11 wherein the draw ratio is from4 to
 10. 13. A process as in claim 11 wherein the draw temperature isfrom 203° C. to 205° C.